RALEIGH, N.C. (May 30, 2014) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is inviting public comments beginning June 2 on the early waterfowl and webless migratory game bird hunting seasons.

The seasons include dove, woodcock, rail, snipe and those waterfowl seasons beginning prior to Oct. 1. Input on extended falconry seasons for webless species also will be taken at this time. Comment on proposed dates for the seasons by going to www.ncwildlife.org and clicking on “Submit Your Comments!”

Comments will be accepted June 2-22.

Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides frameworks from which state fish and wildlife agencies select their respective hunting season dates. After reviewing public comments, Wildlife Commissioners will select season dates for North Carolina during the July 10 Commission meeting.

For more information on migratory game birds in North Carolina, visit the hunting page.

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 29, 2014) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open approximately 64 miles of trout streams and two lakes classified as delayed-harvest trout waters under hatchery-supported regulations on June 7.

From 6 a.m. until 11:59 a.m. on June 7, waters are open only to anglers 15 years old and younger. At noon, waters open to all anglers. Delayed-harvest waters will stay open under hatchery-supported regulations through Sept. 30. During this time, anglers can keep up to seven trout per day — with no bait restrictions or minimum size limits.

The Commission stocks delayed-harvest trout waters from fall through spring with high densities of trout to increase anglers’ chances of catching trout. Once summer arrives, waters become too warm for trout to survive so the Commission opens delayed-harvest streams and lakes to harvest. Delayed-harvest trout waters are posted with diamond-shaped, black-and-white signs.

TROY, N.C. (May 28, 2014) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, along with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the National Rifle Association (NRA), held an open house with a ribbon cutting on Friday to celebrate the grand re-opening of the popular Flintlock Valley Shooting Range on the Uwharrie National Forest in Montgomery County.

Flintlock Valley, one of the few public shooting ranges in the Piedmont region, closed in 2010 because of safety concerns. Wildlife Commission and USFS personnel initiated a partnership last year that enabled them to redesign and upgrade the facility, as well as incorporate additional safeguards. To make the range safer, staff moved the berm for the pistol range closer to the firing line, raised the height of the berm for the rifle range, and redesigned the shelter to reduce the risk of stray bullets leaving the range.

The range offers an opportunity for competition shoots, hunter preparation and general target shooting. Deborah

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 27, 2014) —With boating and fishing season underway, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is asking the public to help keep boating access areas clean and free of debris by “adopting” a boat ramp.

The “Adopt-a-Boat-Ramp” program, based on the popular anti-littering “Adopt-a-Highway” campaign, encourages groups, organizations, individuals and businesses to adopt one of the more than 200 boat ramps that are open to the public across the state, visit it once a month and pick up litter or debris. In exchange for the work, the Commission recognizes volunteers with a sign erected at the boat ramp after the first cleanup has been completed.

The program, which is free, is a partnership between the Commission and the North Carolina Public Access Foundation. The program has been beneficial for the agency, in particular division staff, who can spend large amounts of time picking up litter a

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 27, 2014) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has reduced trout-stocking rates by 50 percent into public waters through August 2014 due to excessive predation by great blue herons at the Bobby N. Setzer State Fish Hatchery in Pisgah National Forest. The reductions were implemented as a short-term action on May 2, while fisheries biologists determined the extent of the losses and assessed management options. This action affects 144 water bodies in 25 counties in western North Carolina.

“Great blue herons have taken a significant toll on all of the fish in the outdoor raceways at the Bobby Setzer Fish Hatchery,” said Bob Curry, fisheries chief for the Commission. “Staff has placed screen covers on the raceways and installed sonic and light deterrents — exclusion measures designed to reduce the predation impact from the herons.”

Although the hatchery has sufficient numbers of trout growing in the r

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 23, 2014) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission welcomed a new member to its governing board during its business meeting on Thursday.

W. Neal Hanks, a North Carolina native and lifelong angler and hunter from Asheville, was sworn in as a district commissioner by Secretary of State Elaine Marshall at the agency’s business meeting in Raleigh. Gov. Pat McCrory appointed Hanks as the commissioner for district 9, which comprises Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Swain, Macon, Jackson, Haywood, Transylvania, Madison, Buncombe, Polk and Henderson counties.

Hanks will serve a term of six years and replaces Albert L. Sneed, also of Asheville, who resigned his post in March for personal reasons.

A graduate of Appalachian State University, Hanks is president of Beverly-Hanks & Associates in Asheville. He is an avid outdoorsman who also enjoys camping, boating, and water and snow skiing, in addition to hunting and fishing. He and his wife Amy are

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 23, 2014) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, in Raleigh to receive public comments on designating two species of moles as pests.

The eastern mole, Scalopus aquaticus, and hairy-tailed mole, Parascalops breweri, are under consideration for designation as pests. Status change under statute would allow the regulated use of pesticides to control these species in residential, recreational, commercial and government property, excluding federal and state parks.

The hearing will be held in the auditorium of the Centennial Campus Center of Wildlife Education, located 1751 Varsity Drive, Raleigh 27606, on the first floor of the Wildlife Commission headquarters.

Currently, landholders with mole problems must hire a licensed wildlife damage control agent or obtain a depredation permit to remove eastern moles and hairy-tailed moles from their property. The N.C. Pesticide Board recently mad

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 16, 2014) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is notifying the public that a U.S. District Judge has issued a court order prohibiting hunting of coyotes in Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Tyrrell and Washington counties, day or night, except under extremely limited circumstances. This notification is due to a lawsuit in which the Wildlife Resources Commission is alleged to have violated the federal Endangered Species Act by allowing coyote hunting in those counties where a non-essential experimental reintroduction of the red wolf is occurring.

In North Carolina’s other 95 counties, coyote hunting regulations allow coyote hunting on private land at any time, day or night, with no bag limit, and on public land at night with a permit.

The Wildlife Commission and the N. C. General Assembly through its House Select Committee on Nuisance Coyote Removal implemented tools to provide North Carolinians the ability to manage coyote predation on livestock,

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 16, 2014) – More than 35 free, family-oriented fishing events get underway this weekend, as part of 2014 National Fishing and Boating Week.

Supported by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, in cooperation with Neuse Sport Shop, N.C. State Council of Trout Unlimited and the U.S. Forest Service, these fishing events provide opportunities for young anglers to learn fishing basics, such as casting, knot-tying and tackle selection. They also let young anglers try their luck at reeling in a variety of freshwater fish — many of them stocked by the Commission, including trout in the mountains and channel catfish in the Piedmont and Coastal regions.

Participants registered at any listed event will be entered into a statewide drawing to win more than 150 fishing-related prizes. The grand prize is a lifetime sportsman license, which includes fishing privileges in freshwater and saltwater, as well as hunting privileges, donated by Neuse Sport Shop

Volunteers will meet in the Lake Rim parking lot at 7490 Raeford Road to pick up trash at the lake and surrounding areas. Trash bags will be provided, but volunteers are encouraged to bring their own gloves.

“This annual clean-up event is extremely important as we continue to try to bring awareness to habitat conservation and the increased use of the fishing access area and boating access area on Lake Rim,” said Kristopher Smith, director of the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center, located across the street from Lake Rim. “It is a wonderful opportunity for families to volunteer, improve Lake Rim’s water quality and fish habitat, and promote environmental stewardship in our community.&rdq